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The Wood Innovation Group
TWIG is building connections across BC’s wood value chain—from forest to finished product. Through events, workshops, and community gatherings, we create space for learning, exchange, and collaboration—helping lay the groundwork for wood products that reflect the strength and potential of a complete BC value system.
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This newsletter is dedicated to those who see potential in BC’s forest resources and want to be part of shaping what comes next—through creativity, design, hands-on work, or new ways of thinking. It’s about blending tradition with technology and contributing to a more resilient, locally rooted forest economy.
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Your voice matters. If you have events, projects, or ideas to share, reach out to us at info@twigbca.ca
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Wood-First-Wednesday
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July 9th 2nd, 6:00 - 8:00
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Faculty Brewing, 1830 Ontario St, Vancouver
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The Vancouver group meets again for its regular gathering at a local craft brewery More Info+
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Squamish Shop Tours
Fraserwood, TAG Panels and more TBA.
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We're planning a series of afternoon tours in Squamish, followed by a gathering at House of Lager. Details coming soon.
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More info for these events will be expanded on below, and the up-to-date TWIG events can be found online at twigbc.ca/events/
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Welcome to summer!
School’s out, and summer plans are in full swing. It’s that time of year when the forests are alive with radiant smells, and the scent of freshly cut lumber seems to linger in the air a little longer than usual. Things tend to slow down at TWIG during the summer months, but we do have one special event lined up for August that we’re excited about. This gathering will take place in Squamish and is designed to bring together our Vancouver and Sea2Sky communities. The day will include a series of afternoon tours, followed by food and drinks in the early evening. More details are available below!
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As you head out on your summer adventures, take a moment to tune into the trees around you. Practice identifying what’s growing nearby—learn their names, notice their forms. If you’re with friends, family, or kids, make it a shared activity and deepen your connection with the trees that grow up around us.
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And if you’re hitting the road this summer, there are some fantastic wood projects to explore across BC—from newly completed mass timber buildings to enduring wood structures that have stood for generations. Check out Naturally:wood’s project database, where you can search by destination and discover inspiring architecture along your route.
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We wish you all a wonderful summer and hope you have a great time with those you love the most.
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With forest-felt regards,
Patrick Christie and The TWIG team
info@twigbc.ca
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Save the Date – Shop tours in Squamish
August 13th - Afternoon to early evening (Exact times TBA)
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We’re hosting a summer-style event featuring an afternoon of shop tours, followed by food and drinks at the House of Lager in Squamish. To make it easy for our Vancouver members to join, we’ll be organizing rides up from the city—this is a great opportunity to connect the Vancouver and Squamish TWIG communities.
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We’ve confirmed visits to both Fraserwood and TAG Panels, with one or two additional stops to be added soon. Our day will wrap up at the House of Lager, located in a mass timber building that also serves as a presentation centre for upcoming development in the Squamish Oceanfront area. Designed by SLA and built by Naikoon, the building was created as a community gathering place and future beacon for the district. During the visit, we’ll explore its various wood design features, artistic installations, and the broader vision for the site.
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Stay tuned—full agenda and registration details coming soon!
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***All S2S events and information can be found online at twigbc.ca/s2s
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Robot Made: Large-Scale Robotic Timber Fabrication in Architecture
Associate Professor AnnaLisa Meyboom from UBC SALA, will hold a technical workshop on robotic fabrication in collaboration with UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP). While many industries have made leaps and bounds in adopting highly flexible and fully automated fabrication workflows using robotics, the construction and design industry are only just starting to open the door to these technologies. Recent developments in robotics combined with more accessible design-to-fabrication tools can now offer architects, designers and fabricators unprecedented access to a new design paradigm. We are pleased to welcome two experts to share their knowledge and experience with students and practicing architects here at UBC. Using a state-of-the-art eight-axis industrial robotic work cell in the CAWP pilot manufacturing pilot, the workshop will guide participants through the unique technical and conceptual foundations that underpin robotic milling in wood through the development and construction of a full-scale fabrication project.
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The workshop is structured as a five-day intensive with an in class session on Saturday with introduction to robotic fabrication, robot orientation, followed by a parametric design, FEM engineering design and fabrication session on Sunday and then hands-on fabrication session the following three days.
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British Columbia Timber Building Tour
The Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is pleased to announce the British Columbia Timber Building and Technical Tour to showcase leading manufacturers of mass-timber building components, prefabricated energy efficient homes, and modular building systems fabricators.
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The UBC CAWP has been leading tours to Europe for over 15 years. This tour is an opportunity for participants to visit some of BC’s leading mass-timber building component and prefabricated building systems manufacturers, many of whom have attended our past tours to Europe and have adopted and implemented principles and technologies into their manufacturing practices.
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These companies provide building solutions to meet the sustainability and green building requirements of advanced energy efficient materials, and mass-timber products for single family, multi-family, and non-residential construction.
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Are you looking to hire someone? Do you have a new position opening up at your company? Let us know, and we can make a posting here to share it with our readers.
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Expanding Connections Across BC
TWIG is always looking to grow—through regional networks, project tours, new partnerships, and collaborations that support BC’s evolving wood industry. While we currently operate in Squamish, Victoria, and Vancouver, we’re eager to connect with individuals and organizations in other regions—from the Interior to Northern BC, the Sunshine Coast, and beyond—who want to help shape the future of wood innovation where they live and work.
If you're in the industry and want to host an event at your space, talk about a product or service we can help make that happen.
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Whether you’re interested in hosting events, organizing tours, sharing your work, or building community through shared goals, we’d love to hear from you.
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Contact us at info@twigbc.ca and let’s explore what’s possible together.
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Donate to TWIG
At TWIG, we believe the best connections happen informally—and that innovation grows when new relationships are formed. That’s why we keep some of our events free, open, and easy to join.
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To keep this going—and for our funding model to work—we rely on financial contributions from the industry. Your support not only keeps the wheels turning but also shows that the work we do matters.
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If TWIG has offered you connections, inspiration, or opportunities, we invite you to show your support. Every contribution makes a difference.
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Got an idea? Need some Testing?
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Do you have a concept, product, or prototype that you want to realize? TWIG can work with you to make this happen with financial support through The Wood First Program. Carried out through the Center for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP) and its team of technical staff, we are able to provide an array of support on various wood-based projects.
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